There were sneers. Lots of them, when I told my friends I had gone for glossy white marble-looking porcelain tiles.
Well, said my UK-based designer friend from his posh apartment in London, get used to walking around with a mop.
He’d gone with Terrazzo tiles for his home and said it was the best thing he ever did. “You absolutely would not even know if the floor was dirty of not. It is so forgiving,” he said.
And I must admit, I do love Terrazzo tiles, just not this time.
Even the owner at the place I eventually bought my tiles from tried to caution me. “Why not try the matt version. It’s less slippery and it also does not show so much of the dirt.”
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But as many may know, a woman wants what a woman wants, and the idea of a shiny happy white floor - while I considered it as I sat on my aged dark floors - seemed like a positive change and I could not be budged.
I had originally looked at getting wood-look tiles, then vinyl and then laminate flooring. A beloved departed friend, Miriam, showed me all the photos of her recent home renovation in which she had used a wood-look surface and it was so stunning. I almost went with that look.
Then my sister put me off it. Let go of the wood look, she said, you’ve had it for 17 years.
She was right. This was the new me. Bolder, braver and determined to go out of my safe, cosy, cluttered vibe. Which I had to do considering my new home is a third the size of my former apartment.
And so it was the glossy white tiles.
Do I regret it? Not really. I do have to have my broom at hand (please dismiss any ’witchy’ comments), and any mark is glaringly obvious.
My London friend was not wrong, and, my “cottagey” looking furniture looks amiss amid these glitzy tiles... and yet, as I lay in bed after mopping one last time for the day, I catch a glimpse of my tiles, and smile. I love them. Maybe they are my mid life crisis, and instead of a small sports car that’s hard to get in and out of I chose these, mop and all.
Property, Home and Environment editor, Vivian Warby is editor of the Home Improver magazine.